At The Academy
by Tora Hikari
Summary: So far, one chapter, more will come eventually. As for the summary: The story of Jareel Soru as a young man at the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4 and his growth to the hieght of his life as a Jedi.


Disclaimer: As to the origins of Star Wars and the premise of Jedi, lightsabers, and the Master Luke Skywalker belong to George Lucas. As to Jareel, he's my creation in Lucas's galaxy. And Nariza is my friend's wonderful character idea, again, inside Lucas's galaxy.  
  
Author's Notes: Special Thanks to Ria for allowing me to use Nariza, and for helping me write this in the majority, and the finer points of how Nariza would treat Jareel.  
  
He sighed as he marched swiftly through the hollow corridors of the Great Temple, the site of the Jedi Academy. His green eyes glanced from wall to wall, he had a meeting with Master Skywalker, and the quicker he got to it the sooner he could be rid of this nervous energy that'd sent him out across the temple grounds.  
  
He stepped into his quarters and started when he noticed the tall man with the sandy brown hair and pale azure eyes. The man was examining a tripod with a holorecorder on top. He smiled as he spoke with the droid it was attached to. The droid spoke binary in the same high pitched tone as an R2 unit.  
  
"Master Skywalker?" The man stood as the Jedi Master turned to look him over.  
  
"Good day, Jareel, I was having an engaging conversation with your droid here… Blade he calls himself?" Master Skywalker smiled.  
  
"Yes, I gave him the name…" Jareel stood there, slightly confused, he was supposed to finish his lightsabers some time today.  
  
"He is grateful to you. Now, would you like to finish you lightsaber?" The man smiled again, standing beside a chair next to the workbench in the room. Jareel nodded and sat, starting to reach for components and the Thaisenn crystals he would use to focus the beams. He assembled the last bits of the lightsabers and smiled as they finally clipped together. He picked up the twin cylinders and smiled at how they felt in his hands.  
  
"Turn them on, Jareel." The Jedi Master moved aside to allow the student to rise and activate the blades. From each foot-long chrome cylinder expanded a two-foot blade of intense light, colored pale blue. Luke walked around his student, watching him, his stance, his weapons, his mind.  
  
Cocking his head he stopped in front of Jareel. "Congratulations, Jedi Knight." The teacher grinned at the sudden joy that spread across Jareel's face as he deactivated the blades and placed them in his belt.  
  
"Really?" Jareel looked at Master Skywalker, who nodded. "Thank you, Master Skywalker, thank you."  
  
"Thank yourself. You've worked hard for this, trained hard." He smiled warmly, like an affectionate uncle. "Remember this though, it is an amazing responsibility, to have the power to wield the Force, and yet the need to allow it to use you."  
  
Jareel straightened and nodded. "Yes, Master Skywalker." He was willing, ready for more instruction, and Luke smiled at this, it was a good sign.   
  
"Farewell for now, Jareel, we will meet again soon, I'm sure." The Jedi Master left the room to his excited pupil.  
  
Jareel looked at his droid's only sensor. "Well, Blade, I did it! She knew I would, one day." He became sober and turned away from the beeping little droid. "I'll be back later, Blade, and I'll start fashioning a body for you then."   
  
He left the room and took a deep breath, pulling the sabers out and turning the intensity to minimum, enough to be solid, but not enough to cut. He nodded, he would go for some sparring down in the courtyard, a good way to run off some extra energy.  
  
He turned to his right and headed to the closest turbo lift, using it to go down to the ground floor and out the front doors of the temple. He reached the courtyard where there were many Jedi sparring, some students, other may have been Knights.  
  
He glanced about for a partner to spar with, only on saber in hand at the moment.  
  
"Need a partner, shorty?" A woman, about a few heads shorter than he was walked up from behind.  
  
He chuckled as he looked at her, glancing quickly over her pilots jumpsuit, the fiery red hair, the emerald eyes. "Yes, if you don't mind?"  
  
"Not at all, get the 'saber out." She casually pulled out her black cylinder, a grin on her face.  
  
Jareel nodded and pulled the second saber from his belt, activating the pale blue blades.  
  
She swore suddenly and activated her saber, the blade a shadowy black. Jareel's eyes widened at that sight, but he activated his short sabers and assumed a ready position. "You may begin." His eyes became set, locked with his opponent, he didn't watch her weapon, nor her body, but focused on what could be seen behind the eyes.  
  
She grit her teeth and moved forward as the lightsabers of the pairings nearby went away for the owners to watch the match between the odd lightsabers.   
  
She brought a heavy blow from above, Jareel raising his right saber to block it and use the contact between them as a focal point for a spin to strike with his left saber.  
  
She brought her blade down, scraping along his right handed blade and blocking with a vertical stance. She then lunged forward, one hand coming off the hilt to grasp the right blade in the Force, holding it immobile above his head. He used his left hand to parry then shifted to avoid a second blow.  
  
He finally obtained control of his other blade and began a two weapon series of strikes, left and right, forcing her to step backward and use her saber in a wave motion to block back and forth. He pushed his advantage, and she sidestepped, using the Force to continue his movement and open a hole in his defense.  
  
She attempted to strike and he brought his right blade straight back to block the motion, and spun to face his opponent. Their eyes locked, and he struck forward, left handed and swift.  
  
She spun her blade to stop the blow then fired it forward, a move he stepped backwards to avoid, then jumped to the side as her blade suddenly grew longer. He gulped and fired one blade down on top, the other across near her chest. She ducked, dragged the her blade backwards and used the distinct length to her advantage.  
  
Jareel was forced to block her blow for blow, now stepping backwards as the five foot long blade struck at him from well outside his reach. He searched for a chance to regain the initiative, but found none. He just blocked, and then his back hit the wall. He stood there, blocking blow for blow, and then side stepped and smiled as the blade struck the wall with no effect.  
  
He moved and got in close, striking at her side, forgetting the blow and ducking as she tried to bring her saber through his neck. He stood and got in closer, using his sabers like daggers, close ranged and useful there. Suddenly he saw her eyes shift, and she jumped over his head. He spun, blades crossed in front of him, only an inch above his face, blocking the downswing she would have used to knock him out.  
  
They stood there, panting slightly. The crowd around them had become dense, and now one figure stood prominent among them.  
  
"Very good. Very good, both of you." Luke Skywalker stood there, watching with interest in his eyes.  
  
The two combatants looked at each other and then at their teacher, and back again. She smiled a bit and stepped backward, deactivating her lightsaber. Jareel deactivated his sabers and put them away.  
  
She offered her hand in a respectful gesture. "Anyone who can fight like that deserves at least a hand shake." Jareel grinned and accepted her hand, shaking one and they released.  
  
"I'm Nariza. What should I call you, shorty?" She smiled at him as she brushed a few strands of hair from her eyes.  
  
"Call me Jareel." He grinned and the crowd began to disperse, discussing points of the combat, enjoying for something interesting to discuss for the next few days. Luke merely smiled at them and bowed himself away.  
  
The two combatants merely stood there, somewhat amuses that they'd met a match in someone they hadn't expected to be a challenge. The grinned at each other and began walking towards the temple. 


End file.
